Olin Dows Papers, 1886-1986 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Title: Olin Dows Papers, 1886-1986

Primary Creator: Dows, Olin (1904-1981)

Extent: 6.05 Cubic Feet

Date Acquired: 00/00/1956

Languages: English

Olin Dows was born August 14, 1904 in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York. He was the son of Mr. Tracy “Pup” Dows and Alice Olin Dows. He was the grandson of Stephen H. Olin, a New York City attorney and founder of the Dutchess County Historical Society, and he was the great-grandson of the Rev. Stephen Henry Olin, a prominent Methodist educator and early president of Wesleyan College in Connecticut.

In 1908, Dows moved with his parents to “Foxhollow,” a 1000-acre estate in Rhinebeck, New York, where eventually the Rhinebeck Country School was built. As an adult, Dows resided in “Glenburn,” his mother Alice’s ancestral home adjoining Foxhollow.

Dows attended St. Marks School, a preparatory school in Massachusetts, and he later studied art at Harvard University and at Yale School of Fine Arts, specializing in murals, panels, and screens. From 1934 to 1936, Dows served as an administrator in the Federal Works Agency-Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts. In 1939, he received a commission from the FWA to design and paint the murals in the Rhinebeck Post Office. In 1941, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, Dows was commissioned to design and paint the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office as well. During this period, Dows was very involved in the Rhinebeck community and served on the local school board.

In 1942, Dows enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Engineers Corps, later becoming a Technical Sergeant in the Historical Section. He was appointed one of three artists in the European Theatre to make a pictorial record of operations there. Dows spoke German fluently, and while in Joigny, France he reportedly convinced 56 Nazis to surrender. In December 1944, Dows received a Bronze Star for bravery during military operations in St. Lo, France.

In 1949, Dows published Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park for which he spent two years writing the text and drawing the book’s 174 illustrations. The Dows family had been lifelong friends and neighbors of the Roosevelt, and the Dows family frequently attended as guests events at Hyde Park and in Washington, D.C., both before and during the presidency. Dows also had worked closely with the President in the conception and design of the Hyde Park Post Office murals.

After the publication of Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park, Dows continued with his painting and held numerous gallery showings. He was a frequent lecturer and teacher on art and art history.

In 1950, Dows married Carmen Vial de Senoret of Chile. Prior to their marriage, Mrs. Dows was a member of the Chilean delegation to the United Nations and an accredited Chilean Minister to the Netherlands. Following their marriage, Dows and his wife lived in her native Chile six months out of the year, returning to Glenburn every spring.

Dows had one stepson, Mr. Luis Browne. His sister Deborah Dows was a lifelong Rhinebeck resident and owner of Southland Farms. His other sister Margaret (“Bargy”) Dows Thyberg was married to Knut Thyberg, a Swedish diplomat.

Olin Dows died June 6, 1981, at the age of 76.

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: This collection is available for use by the general public.

Use Restrictions: Copyright interest in these papers has been donated to the United States Government.

Acquisition Source: Olin Dows and Luis Browne

Acquisition Method: The papers were presented to the Library by Mr. Olin Dows in 1956 (Accession No. 56-01) and by Mr. Luis Browne in 1991 (Accession No. 91-06).

Related Materials: Files in the President’s Official File (OF 3715-b) and the James H. Rowe, Jr. Papers concerning the Federal Works Agency-Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts; Files in the President’s Official File (OF 3710) and the John Carmody Papers concerning the Federal Works Agency in general; Files in the President’s Official File (OF 444), the Harry Hopkins Papers, the Aubrey Williams Papers, and the Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Works Progress Administration and the WPA Art Program; Files in the President’s Secretary’s File (PSF 139), the President’s Personal File: Speeches (Box 57), Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Hyde Park Post Office; Files in the President’s Personal File: Speeches (Box 46), Rhinebeck NY Post Office NARA RG 121, and Dutchess County NY Materials concerning the Rhinebeck Post Office.